Rhiannon Roberts: A captain in waiting?

Rhiannon Roberts sees this camp as a time to reflect on their historic World Cup campaign, as they prepare to take on Finland on Saturday.

It’s hard to believe that it was only a month ago that Wales were defeated in injury time of extra time in Switzerland, and the pain is still there for some of the squad.

But as they congregate in Pinatar for their game on the weekend, Roberts says the squad can reflect positively on what they’ve achieved.

‘I’ll be honest, it was really hard to take. I’ve never experienced heartbreak like that before, it hit us all really hard’

‘Going back to training back at clubs two days later and with players who obviously qualified for the World Cup as well, was quite difficult’

‘As soon as we finished the game [against Switzerland], I had to take some sleeping tablets because the goal was replaying in my mind over and over again for the first four days I got home’

‘But this just gives us a chance to reflect on what’s been a really positive campaign and look back on the positive sides more than anything else, and then start the building blocks for the next qualifiers.’

There were really emotional scenes on the pitch in Zurich after the full-time whistle against the Swiss, with Helen Ward in particular summarising not only how the squad felt, but the country too.

Roberts has been roommates with Ward for years and has talked before about how she will talk her out of retirement, and it has been no different during this camp.

‘We voice note each other – she lives down in London and I live up North and I speak to her more than my husband to be quite honest!’

‘We voice note each other every day and don’t worry I’m keeping her onside’

‘She’s great. She’s literally the best roommate I could ever have. I always tell people how she’s the top goal scorer for Wales, and I like to boost her up all the time.’

Roberts, or Razza as she’s known, has been part of the Wales setup for seven years. While she hasn’t had as much experience internationally as her teammates, her presence is always clear on and off the pitch.

Asked whether she sees herself as one of the next set of leaders in the squad, Roberts was quick to say; ‘I’m glad you’ve not put me in the seniors’ bit already, I had already put myself in there!’

However, the Liverpool defender reflected on the question, before giving an answer that epitomises her leadership but also her warm character.

‘I already consider myself a senior player, I’m quite approachable so I’m good with the younger ones as it is’

‘Me and Helen are more the mums of the group, the brown owls of the group. We know our role; we know our place’

‘But hopefully we can help progress the younger ones and get them through, because we’ve got some amazing talent all the way through the system.’

Wales will face Finland on Saturday evening. The Fins currently sit one place above Wales in the world rankings, and Razza is looking forward to the challenge.

‘They’re a good team, they competed in the Euros, and they’re ranked one place above us. We want to play teams like this, in and around us, especially with the Nations League that came out a couple of days ago’

‘It will be nice to play teams around us in the rankings. It’s a good challenge for us.’

Wales face Finland in Pinatar, Spain on Saturday November 12^th, with the match kicking off at 18:30.